"Return to Haven. Someone will have to inform them if we are… delayed." Cassandra said to the agent.

"As you say my lady."

We walked cautiously through the large crowd, while still trying to portray confidence. Leliana had been trying to teach me how to act and talk around different people; how to play the Grand Game effectively enough to not lose. She had gone over several times the right kind of things to say to certain kinds of people. So as we approached the ranting mother, I went through the options of things to say in my head, until I settled on one.

"Good people of Val Royeaux! Hear me!" The mother yelled as we came to a stop at the front of the crowd. "Together we mourn our Divine. Her naïve and beautiful heart silenced by treachery! You wonder what will become of her murderer. Well. Wonder no more." She said, looking directly at me. "Behold the so-called Herald of Andraste! Claiming to rise where our beloved fell!" The crowd began to yell, hurling insults and threats at me. "We say this is a false prophet! The Maker would send no elf in our time of need!"

"We came here in peace to get help with the Breach, nothing more, and you decide to attack us? There is a real threat, one that needs to be dealt with, and it is not us," I said loudly, for all to hear.

"It's true! The Inquisition seeks only to end this madness before it is too late!" Cassandra said.

"It is already too late!" The mother yelled, pointing to a group of armed men moving onto the platform. Templars. "The Templars have returned to the Chantry! They will face this 'Inquisition', and the people will be safe once more!" I could tell from their armor and stance that these were not the rebel templars we fought in the Hinterlands. These men and women were well fed and armed, and had good formations and training. They were led by a man in shiny, well-kept armor with a sense of authority. Or arrogance. Suddenly a templar punched the Mother and she screamed and fell over in pain.

"Still yourself, she is beneath us," The leader said to a worried looking templar who had already been on the stage.

"What's the meaning of this?!" I asked angrily.

"Her claim to authority was an insult, much like your own!" He spat.

"Lord Seeker Lucius, it's impeditive that we speak with"- Cassandra began.

"You will not address me,"

"Lord Seeker?"

"Creating a heretical movement, raising up a puppet as Andraste's prophet, you should be ashamed," he said. "You should all be ashamed! The templars failed no one when they left the Chantry to purge the mages! You are the ones who have failed! You who'd leash our righteous swords with doubt and fear! If you came to appeal to the Chantry, you are too late. The only destiny here that demands respect is mine."

"Then you just came here for a show a power!" I said.

"I came to see what frightens old women so, and to laugh,"

"But Lord Seeker, what if she really was sent by the Maker? What if-" Said the Templar who had been on stage with the mother.

"You are called to a higher purpose. Do not question," said the templar who had punched the mother.

"I will make the Templar Order a power that stands alone against the void. We deserve recognition. Independence!" the Lord Seeker said, turning back to us. "You have shown me nothing, and the Inquisition? Less than nothing. Templars1 Val Royeaux is unworthy of our protection! We march!" And with that the Lord Seeker began marching out of the city, the templars following.

"Charming fellow, isn't he?" Varric said.

"Has Lord Seeker Lucius gone mad?" Cassandra asked.

"Hopefully he'll see reason. If not, the templars aren't our only hope," I said.

"I wouldn't write them off so quickly. There must be some in the Order who see who he's become," Cassandra said. "Either way, we should return to Haven an inform the others."

We were just about to head out of the city, when a mage approached us.

"If I might have a moment of your time," She said.

"Grand Enchanter Fiona?" Cassandra asked.

"Leader of the mage rebellion. Is it not dangerous for you to be here?" Solas asked.

"I heard of the gathering, and I wanted to see the fabled Herald of Andraste with my own eyes," She replied. "If its help with the breach you seek, perhaps you should look to your fellow mages."

I squared my shoulders and channeled every ounce of Celaena Sardothian (Throne of Glass, read it, it's amazing!) I could. "Perhaps. But why speak to us now?" I asked, remembering Leliana's advice for this kind of negotiationish thing.

"Because now I've seen what you are. And I've seen the Chantry for what it is," She answered. "Consider this an invitation to Redcliffe: Come meet with the mages. An alliance could help us both, after all. I hope to see you there. Au revoir, my lady Herald." With that she turned around, and walked back into the city.

Cassandra turned to me. "Come, let us return to Haven," she said.

"Actually, I was hoping we could find out who this 'Red Jenny' is," I said.

"Then why, were we leaving the city?" Varric asked.

We entered a secluded courtyard late at night, to be immediately met with angry guards attacking us on sight.

"It's the Inquisition's Herald!" A guard yelled. Running at me with a sword. Cassandra stepped in front of me, just barely blocking a sword from cleaving my arm off.

"At least they know who I work for!" I yelled, freezing an archer before he could fire at Solas.

"The hounds! Who lost the hounds?!" Another guard yelled, trying to whistle for the dogs. A burst of fire engulfed her, and I wrinkled my nose at the stench. I tried not to think about how she could have a family, people who love her, who would miss her as she screamed in pain, but it's hard to become remorseless, and not on my to-do list.

I spun around, looking for another guard, to see that they were all lying dead on the ground. Cassandra was already heading towards the door. I ran after her.

"Wait! I've read enough books to know that there is most definitely going to be more enemies through there," I said, grabbing her by the shoulder. She nodded, and I moved toward the door. Shit. What was I thinking? Now I'm probably going to get an arrow in the nee! And then I'll have to become a guard, and complain about it to random adventurers all the time. But there was no turning back, not with Cassandra, Varric and Solas all looking at me expectantly. I pushed open the door, and ducked. Just in time to miss being roasted alive by a fireball twice.

"Herald of Andraste! How much did you expend to discover me? It must have weakened the Inquisition immeasurably!" A noble yelled.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What? Who are you?"

The noble scoffed. "You don't fool me! I'm too important for this to be an accident! My efforts will survive in victories against you elsewhere!" Suddenly an arrow struck a nearby guard, and an elven girl armed with a bow and several arrows jumped out from behind him, aiming an arrow at the noble.

"Just say 'What!'" She yelled, drawing the arrow back as far as it would go.

"What is the-" The noble began to ask, before an arrow flew from the girl's bow and stuck right between his eyes.

"Eww!" The girl said. "Squishy one, but you heard me right? 'Just say What'. Rich tits always try for more than they deserve," She walked over to the man and began to pull her arrow out of his face. "Blah, blah, blah! Obey me! Arrow in my face!" I couldn't help but smile, despite the carnage. The girl turned from the noble to me. "So, you followed the notes well enough, good to see you're… And you're an elf." At my extremely confused look, she began to correct herself. "I mean it's all good, innit? The important thing is: You glow? You're the Herald thingy?"

My eyebrows were probably as high as I could raise them. "Sure, ok, I 'glow'. What in the is going on?" I asked.

"No idea. I don't know this idiot from manners. My people just said the Inquisition should look at him," She answered. "Name's Sera. This is cover. Get round it. For the reinforcements, don't worry, someone tipped me their equipment shed. They've got no breeches." I smiled a little, then got into a fighting stance as several more guards came around the corner.

"Why not their weapons?!" I yelled over the fighting.

"Because no breeches!" She yelled back, giggling maniacally. We finished off the guards quickly, mostly because they bent over in pain when we kneed them in the nuts with armored nees.

Sera turned to me. "Friends really came through with that tip. No breeches!" She giggled maniacally again. "So, Herald of Andraste. You're a strange one. I'd like to join."

"How about we properly introduce ourselves first; I'm Sophia," I said.

"One name. No, wait, two. Well It's like this: I sent you a note to look for hidden stuff by my friends. The Friends of Red Jenny. That's me. Well, I'm one. So is a fence in Montfort, some woman in Kirkwall. There were three in Starkhaven, brothers or something. It's just a name yeah? It lets little people, 'Friends' to be part of something while they stick it to nobles they hate. So here, in your face, I'm Sera. 'The Friends of Red Jenny' are sort of out there. I used them to help you. Plus arrows." She explained.

"Alright, you're in," I said. "But Leliana might need to do a background check, make sure you're not an enemy or something."

"Yes! Get in good before you're too big to like. That'll keep your breeches where they should be. Plus extra breeches, because I have all these… you have merchants who buy that pish, yeah? Got to be worth something." She said. "Anyway, Haven. See you there, Herald. This will be grand." I could see myself really liking Sera. She reminded me of a more hyper Emma, with a "screw society" attitude.


I walked into the estate alone; the invitation from First Enchanter Vivienne had been for me, and not anyone else, as the guard so "helpfully" reminded us.

"Lady Lavellan, on behalf of the Inquisition," A man with a scroll read, announcing me. I looked around the room. It was very fancy, with large, glimmering chandeliers and golden statuettes and vases adorned with crystals and jewels.

"What a pleasure to meet you, my lady. Seeing the same faces at every event becomes so tiresome," A noble said, interrupting my thoughts of how that one statue looked kind of like David Bowie if you look at it right. The noble continued. "So you must be a guest of Madame de Fer. Or are you here for Duke Bastien?"

"Are you here on business?" The woman next to him asked. "I have heard the most curious tales of you. I cannot imagine half of them are true.

"Everything you've heard? Completely true, at least they are to Varric," I joked.

"Varric? Varric Tethras? Better and better. The Inquisition should attend more of these parties," she remarked.

"The Inquisition? What a load of pig shit. Washed-up sisters and crazed Seekers? No one can take them seriously!" A man said, walking down the steps. I raised my eyebrows questioningly and crossed my arms. "Everyone knows it's just an excuse for a bunch of political outcasts to grab power!"

"The Inquisition is just trying to restore peace and order. Close the giant demon hole in the sky. I mean, have you seen it lately? Kind of a big thing," I said.

"Here comes the outsider, restoring peace, with an army," he accused. "We know what your Inquisition truly is. If you were a woman of honor, you'd step outside an answer the charges." I was about to make a very good point (and a very snarky comment that he was compensating for something) , when he reached for his weapon. Before he could even lay a finger on the overly bejeweled hilt of his sword, he was incased in ice by a very awesome looking woman at the top of the stairs.

"My dear Marquis, how unkind of you to use such language in my house, to my guests," She said, walking down the steps. "You know such rudeness is intolerable."

"Madame Vivienne, I humbly beg your pardon!" The man said, hurrying with his words, making him an even worse player of the game (that's right, I read the Masked Empire, I know this shit).

"You should," She said, stepping around him to face him. "Whatever am I going to with you, my dear?" She turned to me. "My lady, you're the wounded party in this unfortunate affair. Whatever should I do with this foolish, foolish man?"

I grinned. "I'll leave that to you, Madame Vivienne." She turned to the Marquis.

"Poor Marquis, issuing challenges and hurling insults like some Ferelden dog lord," She said, unfreezing him. "And all dressed up in your Aunt Solange's doublet. Didn't she give that to you to wear to the Grand Tourney? To think, all the brave chevaliers who will be competing left for Markham this morning, and you're still here. Were you hoping to sate your damaged pride by defeating the Herald of Andraste in a public duel? Or did you think her blade could put an end to the misery of your failure? Run along my dear, and do give my regards to your Aunt." All I could think was: whoa. Did she just ruin that man in less time then it took me to shatter Adam Smith's fragile masculinity? I took me like 3 minutes! She ruined that man in a 6th of that time!

She turned to me. "I'm delighted you could attend this little gathering. I've so wanted to meet you." She motioned for me to follower her as she started towards the stairs. I followed her into a deserted hallway.

The hallway was bathed in a silver light coming from the open window. We stopped in front of the window. "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Vivienne, First Enchanter of Montsimmard and Enchantress to the Imperial Court," She said, listing off her titles like she'd said them a million times before.

"It's nice to meet you, Lady Vivienne," I replied.

"Ah, but I didn't invite you to the chateau for pleasantries," She said. "With Divine Justinia dead, the Chantry is in shambles. Only the Inquisition might restore sanity and order to our frightened people. As the leader of the last loyal mages of Thedas, I feel it only right that I lend my assistance to your cause."

"You are more than welcome in the Inquisition, Lady Vivienne," I said. She smiled.

"Great things are beginning, my dear. I can promise you that," She replied.


"It's good that you've returned. We heard of your encounter," Josephine said as Cassandra and I walked into the chantry.

"You heard?" Cassandra asked.

"My agents in the city sent word ahead, of course," Leliana confirmed, walking down the hall towards us with Cullen.

"It's a shame the templars have abandoned their senses as well as the capital," Cullen said, crossing his arms.

"We at least now know how to approach either side," I said, starting to walk towards the war room along with everyone else.

"Do we? Lord Seeker Lucius is not the man I remember," Cassandra said.

"True. He has taken the Order somewhere, but to do what? My reports have been… very odd," Leliana said.

"We must look into it. I'm certain not everyone in the Order will support the Lord Seeker," Cullen said.

"Or the Herald could simply go to meet the mages in Redcliffe, instead," Josephine suggested.

Cullen stopped. "You think the mage rebellion is more united? It could be ten times worse!"

"Or we could stop arguing and agree on something," I said, annoyed with all of everyone's bickering, I had a huge headache, and it was killing me.

"I agree," Cassandra said.

"We shouldn't discount Redcliffe. The mages may be worth the risk," Josephine said.

"They are powerful, Ambassador, but more desperate then you realize," Cassandra replied.

"You think it's a trap?" I asked.

"If some among the rebel mages were responsible for what happened at the Conclave…" Cassandra said, trailing off.

"The same could be said about the templars," Josephine said, and I swore I saw her give Cassandra the tiniest glare I have ever seen, or maybe it was just the light.

"True enough. Right now I'm not certain we have enough influence to approach the Order safely," Cullen said.

"Then the Inquisition needs agents in more places," Cassandra said. She turned to me. "That's something you can help with."

"In the meantime, we should consider other options," Josephine said, and I swore I saw her give Cassandra another tiny glare.

Leliana walked up to me as everyone walked away. "There is one other matter," she said. "Several months ago, the Grey Wardens of Ferelden vanished. I sent words to those in Orlais, but they have also disappeared. Ordinarily I wouldn't even consider the idea they're involved in this, but the timing is… curious."

"You're right, that is strange," I said, furrowing my eyebrows.

"The others have disregarded my suspicion, but I cannot ignore it. Two days ago, my agents in the Hinterlands heard news of a Grey Warden by the name of Blackwall," she said. "If you have the opportunity, please seek him out. Perhaps he can put my mind at ease."

"What if he can't" I asked.

"Then There may be more going on than we thought," She said, turning to walk down the hall.

"So much for my nap," I muttered to myself as I turned down the hallway to where my tiny room was. "Guess I'll have to re-pack everything and head to the Hinterlands…"

When I arrived in my room, there was a hot cup of elfroot tea and a bowl of soup waiting for me courtesy of Josephine, who was now in my list of the top five people of the week. I sat down with a book on the history of the Grey Wardens (trying to get as much history of Thedas as I can) and took a big gulp of tea. Then I looked down at my desk and saw a giant pile of paperwork. I groaned and put down my book.

Most of the paperwork was handled by Cullen, Leliana and Josephine. But occasionally I would get back from a trip and find a pile of paperwork that had piled up while I was gone. Better get it out of the way now instead of having to do it later. After two hours of writing out explanations on what I thought would be the best way to do a thing, I had come to the last paper. I sighed and simply wrote that I agreed with Josephine, then signed my name at the bottom. I leaned back in my chair. Recently I had been trying not to think about home, if I did I would end up a blubbering mess in the corner. But I just couldn't help myself. I wished I would wake up and find out that this was all some coma induced dream and I could go home and play Dragon Age instead of living it. But not matter how many times I pinched my arm or closed my eyes and tried to wake up, I would open my eyes to the same small old store room turned into a bedroom in the Chantry of Haven in Thedas. Not a hospital with my family gathered around me.

Then a single, dreadful thought entered my head. What if I was dead? It would make sense. Maybe this was the afterlife. I mean I had never been religious, I liked to use reason and logic to solve problems, but I also believed that I could be wrong. Maybe my love of Dragon Age had inserted itself in my own twisted version of Heaven. Or Hell. I had always said that if Heaven existed then it would have to have bad things to make the good things better, and vise versa with Hell. Or maybe this was really a situation straight out of a Fanfiction, where some unknown force brought me to Thedas for some weird reason. Maybe I was just crazy, and this was just all in my head. But whatever the reason for being in Thedas, I wouldn't just let this world burn. I am not a monster.

So I think I've figured out who Sophia is going to romance, I'm not going to tell you because it's a surprise. Also, it will be hard to tell who she's romancing until she fully starts the romance, because Sophia is a flirt and will flirt when she can. I anyone has any constructive feedback please give it as long as it helps improve my writing. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :).

PS: As requested by LanceTrance, linebreaks have been added to make it clear when a scene transition is happening. Also, the next chapter won't be mostly dialogue like this one, I promise.